Lewis D. Chase

Lewis Chase was a U.S. Air Force pilot involved in one of the earliest jet-age UFO encounters. Serving as a pilot during the Cold War era, he participated in military operations documenting encounters with unknown aerial objects. On July 24, 1952, during the wave of sightings over Washington, D.C., Chase and his radar operator were scrambled in an F-94 Starfire to intercept unidentified targets detected on radar. This incident was part of the famous 1952 Washington flap and prompted the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel. The testimony of Chase contributed to official records documenting military encounters with unknown aerial objects during the Cold War era.